CBD May Not be Safe in Pregnancy

However, two animal studies have shown that gestational exposure to CBD can alter the behaviour of any offspring and also affect nerve cells in the insular cortex of the brain. This is the area involved in processing emotions and signals from the senses.

“Scientific evidence has proven that CBD crosses the placenta, can reach the brain of rodents and human embryos and is also present in breast milk; therefore, it’s a public health priority to understand the impact of CBD on the developing nervous system as we don’t yet know the consequences of CBD exposure to the brain during development,” 
Caceres Rodriguez, Study Author.

In the experiment, pregnant female mice were injected with a low dose of CBD (3mg/kg) from day 5 to day 18 which covers almost the whole gestational period of a mouse. Another group of pregnant mice were not given any CBD and acted as the control group.

After delivery, the researchers waited for the mice to reach adulthood and then tested their behaviours to detect a large range of behaviours when they were moved to a new environment for several days.

“CBD-exposed females tended to move around their new environment more compared to females that didn’t receive CBD during gestation. Furthermore, compared to control mice, male and female mice treated with CBD established more physical contact with each other. - Ms Caceres Rodriguez

This research has been carried out in mice so caution is needed when considering similar effects for humans.

What do we Already Know About CBD?

However, it is already known that CBD can cross the placenta and be present in breast milk in both mice and humans, it is also known that cannabis use can affect brain development in both mice and humans.

One study limitation is that the mice were given a controlled amount of CBD  for over two-thirds of their pregnancy, whereas humans might be more inclined to take CBD intermittently, in larger doses for various symptoms throughout the entire pregnancy.

 Evidence like this could change the general thought pattern that CBD is a universally safe substance.  It also uncovers the need for more studies on the effect of taking CBD whilst pregnant. 

 More research is needed to be positive about the potential effects for humans, but these findings are so far an early indication that women should always seek professional advice before taking CBD during pregnancy.

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